Tour of Eden Hall Campus Farm ~ Gibsonia, PA

 August 23, 2016

The Eden Hall Campus Farm, gifted by the Eden Hall Foundation to Chatham University, serves as their North Campus. In the next twenty - thirty years, student enrollment at the Campus Farm is projected to rival that of the other two Chatham campuses. Their Master Plan for development is available on their website.

The focus at the Farm is on sustainable living, conservation, green development, and energy and water management. Since the campus was built from the ground up, it has its own self-contained waste management system. Despite having their own system, state regulations require connecting to the local municipal waste and fresh water systems. 

Our tour was led by the well-versed Kelly Henderson who is currently the Campus Farm K-12 Grade coordinator. The tour featured the LEEDS certified buildings, the sustainable landscape, and supporting systems, but time and darkness prevented us from seeing some of the main parts of the 388 acre Campus. Building materials, fresh air, watering, cistern, and a geothermal system for heating and cooling are all part of being sustainable. We toured the Field Lab for aqua culture and, as a side note, the first meal of their homegrown tilapia fish will be served in the dining hall this fall.  The greenhouse tunnel contained prolific tomatoes, peppers, and egg plant all destined for the dining hall.

The curriculum at this campus focuses on sustainability which can include food science, aquaculture, water and waste systems, landscape design, and some animal husbandry.  Bachelor and master degrees are available on the items listed above.

This farm was originally owned by Sebastian Mueller, a cousin and later son-in-law of H. J. Heinz.  It was a recreational retreat for women employees at H. J. Heinz. LAGC’s Helen Dean went on several retreats there.   As described by the Post-Gazette, when the retreat closed, “Happy memories of swimming, hiking, bowling, playing tennis and horseback riding are all the "Eden Hall Farm girls" have left of the idyllic vacations they spent in the country setting of Eden Hall Farm in Richland.”

The farm is a work in progress but now has a residence hall, dining hall, café, rain gardens, filter systems, etc. The barn will house a future stage. The quiet campus is beautiful outside and inside; the trails and dining hall are open to the public. The landscape contains many plants not frequently seen in quantity such as ink berry (not edible), button bush, paw paw trees, etc. Check the Eden Hall Campus website for more information including workshops and activities.

water systems

Ink Berry

Bayberry

Greenhouse

living wall, dining hall

Anita, wall art Native American story

Cafe area, again duct work shown

Pollinator bees- nest at Eden

Calendar

·        September 27 – “The Truth about Ferns: Sex, Lies, Betrayal, Bad Attitude and a Gone Gay Generation” by Len Lehman.

·        September 27 – Pay membership dues, $15.00 per person

·        October 25 – “Why Don’t My Hydrangeas Bloom?” by Sandy Csikari.

Note: No meetings November & December.

July 2016 Meeting Notes

Business Meeting                                                                  

July 26, 2016

President, Mary Anne Kurtz, welcomed members and visitors on a beautiful summer evening. 

·        Members have a wide variety of blooms in their gardens plus a few weeds. 

·        On a recent hike at Moraine State Park, Dianne Machesney saw an endangered native orchid, spotted coralroot/Corallorhiza maculata. At Ohiopyle she saw a water willow, Justica americana.

·        Program updates. August field trip to Eden Hall starts at 7 p.m. See information below.  Presentations for September and October have been exchanged due to scheduling conflict for one of the speakers. Please make the change in your Handbook.

·        Top two spots on the officer list for next year are blank. Mary Anne said being president is not that difficult and is a great learning opportunity. A brief discussion followed regarding the pros and cons of having a public website; No decision made. Esther Nagy, LAGC blogger, will not be moving. Marlow Madeoy is in charge of the Handbook for next year. Dues are due in September.

·        Lynn Betts mentioned that Larry Grundler has a full yard of day lilies in bloom and encouraged everyone to visit as soon as possible. Many club members have purchased Larry’s lilies and enjoy visiting his Summerhill Farm. Lynn suggested that we schedule a field trip there in April 2017.

·        Marilyn Gurtner said the July 5^th bird banding at her home went well and shared a photo of her grandson holding a woodpecker before release. Bird banding at the Gurtners is an annual event held the first Tuesday after the July 4^th holiday. Marilyn also shared photos of her new method for deer proofing her tomatoes; grow them in high, hanging pots! 

·        Evan Fingal’s father died July 25^th; Colleen Fingal thanked members for the cards she received after her mother’s passing.

·        Mary Anne thanked Sharon Walston for the lovely picnic at her home and thanked Peggy Elizeus and Rose Mary Highman for arrangement and dessert respectively.

Program: “Organic Pest Control”

Colleen Fingal introduced speaker Pat Morgan, Penn State Master Gardener, Bidwell horticultural and pest management graduate, avid gardener, fig tree grower, and church organist.  Pat was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker who urged us to think sustainable and keep on learning.

Take home points:

·        A pest is any living organism whether bacteria, fungi, mammal, bird or weed.

·        Integrated Pest Management (IPM) means prevention and observation and sustainable procedures. Use three steps:

o       Outwit—know plant and pest, then monitor.

o       Outlast—know your predators and wait two weeks for them to show up.

o       Outplay—know your tolerance and resources. Pick appropriate control measures. Sanitize tools, use a physical barrier, plant the right plant in right location, use companion planting, and intercrop.

·        Enhance soil with compost, use mulches to prevent heat or drought stress, water in a timely manner, use natives where possible.

·        Biological controls such as BT, milky spore, diatomaceous earth, capsicum, etc., are available. READ and FOLLOW the label noting its effectiveness.

References:

Good Bug Bad Bug by J. Walliser, Good Weed Bad Weed by N. Gift, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden by J. Walliser, What’s Wrong with My Plant by D. Deardorff,  Rodale’s Vegetable Gardening and Problem Solving, Mac’s Field Guide Bad Garden Bugs of the Northeast, and Rodale’s Organic Gardening Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control.

Calendar

·        August 23 – Tour of the Eden Hall Campus Farm and Greenhouse of Chatham University, 6035 Ridge Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044. The focus there is on sustainable living, conservation, green development, energy, and water management. Colleen will email tour information in the next few weeks.  She will need to know if you will be carpooling from the church at 6:15 p.m. or meeting at the farm before 7 p.m.  

·        September 27 – “The Truth about Ferns: Sex, Lies, Betrayal, Bad Attitude and a Gone Gay Generation” by Len Lehman.

·        September 27 – Pay membership dues, $15.00 per person

·        October 25 – “Why Don’t My Hydrangeas Bloom?” by Sandy Csikari.